Turbulence
by Sounni
Summary: Sequel to Why Now? Set 2 Years later. The weakness still exsists no matter how hard they try and deny it!
1. Two Years On

John glanced at the woman sitting across from him; a long tendril of dark hair had escaped its confinement and fell over her face. She made no attempt to brush it back and his fingers just itched to reach out and do it for her. Just to be able to touch her at all, however slightly would make him feel better. Over the past two years Elizabeth's hair had grown longer and now sat curled around her shoulders. Today though it was pulled into a messy bun and if he admitted it, he liked it.

'Stop it!' he told himself abruptly. 'You can't think like that anymore,' he repeated it over and over in his head. John knew that these invasive thoughts had no place in his life but it was hard to stop thinking about her. He wanted to freely reach out and touch her, have a normal stable relationship but this wasn't Earth and they were far from normal.

Two years had passed since Kolya had taken them, tried to break him by using her. Two years since they had confessed their love and since they had decided it wasn't their time. Two years since he had kissed her, touched her intimately and told her verbally how he felt. They now acted like nothing had happened between them, reverting to the easy relationship they'd had before. They hadn't placed restrictions on each other because deep down they knew that the chances of them beating the wraith in the near future were slim and neither wanted to stop the other from being happy. Though John still flirted regularly with off world women, it wasn't the same anymore as his heart just didn't seem to be in it.

On the other hand he had to sit by and watch as leaders from other worlds flirted with Elizabeth. At those times he had felt his stomach ball and this gut wrenching feeling of despair race through him. All he wanted to do was stake his possession but he knew he couldn't interfere, couldn't stop her from finding love with someone else who wouldn't place her life in jeopardy and didn't risk his own.

As if knowing what John thinking about Elizabeth chose that moment to glance up and catch his eye, letting her guard down if only for a moment. Elizabeth knew that sometimes it was hard for John to keep everything professional but he rarely showed it. There were times where they would connect, with either a slight touch or just a look and she knew that deep down he still seemed to love her.

John had never spoken the words since that day but she knew. She cherished these rare moments when he would lower the tough façade. Sometimes she would catch him in an unguarded moment staring at her with a sad, longing look and it nearly made her forget the reasons why they weren't together. It wasn't until they received news of a new threat to the galaxy, a wraith attack or simply his team being injured and then resolve reaffirmed itself.

'We made the right decision,' the voice inside her head told her. In a way she knew the voice was right, keeping herself distanced from John made her job just that little bit easier. When push came to shove, she found that not being able to express her feelings for him made the tough decisions just a bit easier because she couldn't let the fear show. She loved him but there was a big difference between expressing that love and keeping it bottled up. Elizabeth and John knew from experience that any show of weakness could be exploited and they both knew that their work on Atlantis was by far from finished. They had therefore come to an agreement that neither would stand in the way of other finding happiness with someone else, if it should happen before they were able to be together or if their feelings for each other changed.

"We've finally finished refitting the Orion," Rodney's voice knocked her out of her thoughts, "Elizabeth, we want to test its capabilities."

Elizabeth had to rack her brain to remember what the briefing was about. The Orion had needed extensive work to revert it to its former glory. Rodney and a team of scientists had been working on its systems whenever they could spare the time. Though it hadn't been at full strength they had been able to use it on several occasions when it was absolutely needed.

It had taken two years to repair it fully but now they had a fully repaired and operational Ancient ship. Things had become rather desperate around Atlantis after discovery that their only working ZPM was near depletion. Most missions were devised in hopes that the teams would discover a charged ZPM or any information on the location of one.

The restoration of the Orion to full strength bought back the hope that it could buy them some time to find a functioning ZPM or discover the information on how to build their own. Today was the day that Rodney decided the Orion was ready, that it was up to his standards. Today was the day they would test its capabilities, iron out any remaining bugs.

"Take only as many people as you need," Elizabeth answered him. Finalizing the details of the mission took another twenty minutes during which she received word that the Daedalous had landed. Closing her eyes and rubbing her temples she could feel that this latest visit from Colonel Caldwell was going to mean trouble. From the beginning Stephen Caldwell had showed a dislike for the Atlantis leader because John had been promoted ahead of him, however over time Elizabeth had begun to feel as if she had found another ally in her fight against the IOA. 

Elizabeth had an inkling that Caldwell was not going to be bringing good news with him.

John watched as Elizabeth rubbed her temples tiredly. He knew she had been under a lot of stress lately from Earth. The IOA had been constantly questioning her decisions lately as if looking for a scapegoat and a reason to remove her from her command and replace her with someone who would be amenable to IOA influence. Though, he and Elizabeth had returned to the ease of their old friendship, he knew that she didn't tell him everything like she used too, therefore he couldn't be sure of any specifics.

John lolled back in his chair long after the briefing had ended; he waited for her to notice him.

Elizabeth could feel eyes on her, glancing up from collecting the paperwork in front of her and noticed John still sitting opposite her.

"What's wrong?" his voice quietly questioned her.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" she answered his question with one of her own.

John just sighed. "I know you better than that Elizabeth."

Biting her lip and glancing down at the table for a moment, Elizabeth knew she needed to tell him something. Though nothing unprofessional had occurred between them since they had defined their relationship, John was still the one that she confided in. She admitted that she didn't tell him much as she used to but she still tried to tell him her problems. He could always read her like a book, he always knew as if by instinct that something was eating away at her. This time he was spot on but she wasn't sure if she was ready to share her concerns.

Deciding to give him just enough information to ease his worry and put him off, she began telling him about her Earth problems and how the IOA had been slowly tightening its grip on her.

Stephen Caldwell glanced out over the Atlantis gate room. For four years they had been in the Pegasus Galaxy and for three of those years he had been flying back and forth between the Pegasus galaxy and the Milky Way.

The Daedalous had bought both new personnel and supplies to aid both in their fight and to keep themselves in top form. He also had news to deliver to Elizabeth that he wasn't sure she would be too happy about.

Caldwell knew that the IOA was trying to influence the Atlantis commander, practically blackmail her into making the decisions and strategic moves that they wanted her to make. So far Elizabeth had ignored them but the threat that she either comply or be removed from her command was looming over head. The IOA had made a point to question Weir's every decision, it wouldn't take much to push them over the edge and have her removed from her command.

Caldwell mused that the only reason she hadn't been removed and replaced with a puppet was because she had not made any disastrous decisions and that she had the support of the President.

Turning around he watched as the senior officers left the briefing room. He hadn't been included on the latest briefing as the Daedalous had only just arrived so he was stuck on the outside looking in until Weir had a chance to update him. Caldwell's eyes narrowed as he noticed only two people remained in the room.

He had heard the rumours like everyone else on the base but had yet to see with his own eyes what everyone else was claiming: that John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir were lovers. If they were and it came to public knowledge, the IOA would use it as an excuse and Elizabeth would be removed from command without hesitation.

Shaking the bad thoughts from his head, Caldwell watched the new arrivals make themselves at home whilst he waited for the two leaders to become available.


	2. The Infiltrator

A blonde haired man glanced up at the Atlantis Stargate, a feeling of awe spread through him. He had a meeting with the commander of the base, which he was late for because he hadn't been able to fight the urge to visit the gateroom. Moving towards the control room, a smile lit his face when he noticed Dr Weir in her office. A diplomat just like him, he admired her work a great deal, though this would be the first chance he'd had to meet her.

Arriving on the Daedalus, Dr Ben Jacobs knew that he was more than qualified for his new position as a trade negotiator working with the off-world teams. The SGC had approached him after they had been impressed with some liaison work he had prepared for them. The offer had been too tempting to resist, so here he was.

Approaching Dr Weir's office, Ben gave a tentative knock waiting for a reply before entering slowly. Dr Elizabeth Weir sat behind her desk engrossed in paperwork.

His eyes soaked in her features and he had to admit that his imagination had actually lived up to reality for once.

'She's stunning.' Ben thought. Her curly dark hair and big green eyes were perfect. He realized that he was really going to enjoy life in Atlantis.

Glancing up from her paperwork, Elizabeth watched as a man approached her desk. Narrowing her eyes a little, she realized that he must be one of the new scientists from Earth. With everything that had been happening, she had not had the chance to read up on the new personnel arriving but knew that they would be more than adequate for their positions.

Standing up she pushed back her seat and walked around to greet the man.

"I'm Dr Elizabeth Weir." She announced holding out her hand. A firm masculine hand grasped hers and shook it slightly.

"Dr Ben Jacobs." The man replied with a smile that would make any woman melt

"The Ben Jacobs?" Elizabeth replied with surprise.

"The one and only!" He replied in a cocky tone before continuing, "I'm just as impressed at meeting you Dr Weir, or can I call you Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth, please." She smiled back at him.

"So tell me how Dr Elizabeth Weir, world renowned diplomat and negotiator ended up as leader of Atlantis?" Jacobs enquired smoothly.

"Well…" Elizabeth began telling Ben Jacobs just how she had become leader of the city.

John walked towards Elizabeth office, the need to be near her had been like a scratch waiting to be itched. He didn't need to see to her about anything, he just needed to be around her for awhile.

John knew where the lines of their relationship were now drawn but all day he'd been feeling this pull towards her growing stronger. He'd had no choice but to try to repress it like he had for last two years but for some reason today he just needed to let the feelings surface again, if only for a little while.

He just wanted to be with her and nothing in his life had ever seemed so hard. Standing between them the biggest was their own sense of duty and dedication, which they put before themselves. Sometimes he just wanted to throw common sense out of the window and claim her but as things were she wasn't his to claim yet.

Making his way through the control room, a smile lit up his face as he spotted Elizabeth in her office. The smirk was quickly wiped away as he noticed she wasn't alone.

Standing rather close to the stranger, Elizabeth's head fell back with laughter and he had his hand on her shoulder. John stood rooted to the spot as his stomach knotted and churned. It was a feeling that over the last two years he had found a name for.

Jealousy.

John had to admit that he was shocked by the sudden onslaught of the feelings but knew they stemmed from his inability to share the same intimacies with her. He now knew how she must have felt all of those times he had flirted with women off world and even right in front of her. It hurt but he was a soldier used to sucking it up and this was no different.

Deciding that his need to be with her wasn't as urgent as he had thought, he turned and headed towards the gym to take his frustrations out.

Rodney watched John stalk out of the control room, the dirty look plastered on his face not going unnoticed. What had happened to make John look like he wanted to punch the living daylights out of someone?

Peeling back the wrapper of his power bar, Rodney decided he'd have to approach his friend about it later, when he wasn't so busy.


	3. Blowing Off Steam

Ben made his way down the Atlantis corridors to his quarters. A smile lit his face as he realized just how good everything was turning out. Rounding a corner, a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him into an empty room.

Turning and trying to get a look at his attacker, Ben let out a sigh of relief when he realized who it was.

"Lucas, you scared me," he told the man.

"Sorry." The captain shrugged.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Ben questioned the older man.

"I'm just here to congratulate you on your first meeting with Dr Weir. You seem to be right on track." Lucas said.

"You risked blowing my cover, just to congratulate me." Ben retorted sarcastically.

"No. I pulled you aside to tell you that your little scene with Weir made Sheppard boil." Lucas informed him snidely.

"Good." Ben nodded.

"We knew you were the man for the job." The Captain smiled evilly.

"Just remember our deal." Ben told him forcefully.

"I doubt you'll let me forget it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work." Lucas nodded at Jacobs before leaving the room.

Ben watched him go but made no attempt to leave the room himself. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes and let out a big sigh. Things were becoming complicated 

fast and he needed to decide a way to proceed. He thought back to when Lucas had first approached him.

It had been soon after he had finished brokering a deal in the Middle East. A man in a U.S Marines uniform had approached him and asked if he was interested in becoming the leader of the most important expedition mankind had ever embarked on.

Of course he had been intrigued, for his entire professional career he had wanted to be famous, world renowned and the number one in his field. This was his chance and he would do anything he could to make this happen.

Captain Lucas James had become his contact with the organisation that would later lead to his secret placement in the city of Atlantis. He was willing to be manipulated by the IOA if it meant that he would become the leader of the Atlantis expedition

Destroying Elizabeth Weir's career just to better his own was seemingly immoral and vindictive but it didn't seem to bother him. He had spent years establishing himself as a diplomat but it was in the shadow of the great Elizabeth Weir. Until four years ago when she had seemingly vanished from the scene and he didn't need to compete for employment anymore. Her name was still held in higher regard than his and that made him angry. Weir just hadn't disappeared from the diplomatic circuit; she had been promoted to the highest job she could possibly ever reach.

Lucas had proposed that they use Sheppard and Weir's relationship against them. Draw them apart, let them make mistakes and show the IOA how unstable the Atlantis leaders really were. Ben knew that he would do whatever it took to become the new leader of Atlantis.

A noise in the corridor knocked Ben out of his reverie. Rubbing his face, Ben plastered a smile back onto his face before moving back out into the hall and walking slowly to his quarters.

John punched hard into the bag several times before stopping and letting himself breath. He had been in the gym for over two hours taking out his jealousy on anything he could get his hands on. For two years, he had not been this consumed by jealousy over a man he had only just met but this time he felt different. Slamming his fists back into the bag, John didn't hear the gym doors open.

"Do you need someone to train with?" Teyla's voice reverberated through the room.

John paused for a moment before looking up at her and nodding. It would help to have someone fighting him back, especially someone with Teyla's skills.

Picking up a pair of sticks from the edge of the room, Teyla threw one over towards him before she started spinning hers.

"Don't hold back on me!" John told her, as he started moving closer.

Teyla merely nodded before hitting out at him. John met her strike and made one of his one. She matched him strike for strike, he found himself becoming even more frustrated, and he started making mistakes.

She smacked his leg and he let out a yelp. She just smirked and raised her stick again. Several minutes later, John moved away from her after she jabbed his stomach.

"Enough!" he shouted at her harshly.

Teyla's head shot up and she gave him a confused look.

"Is something bothering you Colonel?" she questioned quietly.

John rubbed his hands over his face before sighing, "No."

Teyla just nodded knowing that he was not going to offer any more information. "If you wish to talk, you know where I am." She told him before putting the sticks back and leaving the gym quietly.

John let out a frustrated growl and slumped to the ground. 'This was the exact reason they had decided not to be together.' he told himself. The man hadn't even been in Atlantis for five minutes and he couldn't even control his jealousy. He needed to talk to her, his rash actions earlier had stopped him from seeing her and now he needed to. The gym doors whooshed open again, this time he didn't even bother looking up. A shadow moved over him and a quiet voice broke into his thoughts.

"John?" her tone showed she was worried and he looked up to see her face mirrored her tone.

"I've just had a visit from Teyla."

"We need to talk." John told her simply.

"Okay." Elizabeth nodded the concern for him evident in her eyes.

John dropped to the ground suddenly in a move that startled Elizabeth. He moved so that his back was resting against the wall. He patted the ground next to him and she took it as an indication to sit.

When John did not say anything for several minutes, Elizabeth turned to him.

"Is something wrong?"

"I...um…" John fumbled for the right words. He had never been good at expressing his emotions properly and over time because of lack of use, he'd become worse. He knew what he felt and what he wanted to tell her but he couldn't express it with words, so he did the next best thing.

Dipping in his lips captured hers in a rough possessive kiss, she was his and he wanted her to know it. Elizabeth was too stunned to reciprocate at first but within moment, she had composed herself and started kissing him back with equal enthusiasm. They continued kissing, snatching air when they could.

Elizabeth could remember the last time John kissed her with complete clarity. She replayed their moments repeatedly in her head, believing that the real thing was nowhere near as good as she remembered. She was wrong. Content to keep kissing him it wasn't until his hands started wandering under her shirt did she pull back.

Breathing heavily, she just stared up at him.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"You're mine." John asserted possessively.

Elizabeth just raised her eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?"

She posed the question, wondering where this sudden behaviour had come from.

"You're mine!" John repeated.

"I heard you the first time John," she sighed, "what brought on this behaviour? I thought we had an understanding?"

He remained silent, his eyes boring holes into hers.

"I needed to see you, feel you, know that you're still attracted to ME." John emphasised his voice growing a little louder.

"Why?" Elizabeth asked confused.

"It's been 2 years. 2 years in which we have only been friends." She told him.

"I know," John nodded, "but..." he paused not knowing how to explain to her what he feeling.

"Today, I was jealous, really jealous." He finished.

"What?" Elizabeth asked him confusedly.

"The man you seemed all chummy with in your office, the one that had his hands on you." John told her irritably.

"Ben?" Elizabeth asked while trying to think of any other men that had been into her office.

John just shrugged, "Maybe."

"You mean you don't even know who he was or what was happening and you're jealous?" she asked sceptically.

"I know it's stupid but lately these urges and feelings I have for you haven't been so easy to resist and when I saw him touching you I saw red." John told her.

Elizabeth's gaze softened and she yearned to comfort him, to tell him it was all right but she couldn't because it wasn't.

"We knew this wasn't going to be easy." She told him gently.

"I know." John replied, "I thought I was moving on at least a little."

Elizabeth knew that John had tried flirting with other women off world in attempts to forget her and she was a little hurt but she had tried the same thing. What had happened in her office though hadn't been anything, but she still felt a little guilty that he had thought it was something.

"We'll just have to keep trying to move on John, the war with the Wraith may never be over and we may never be free." Elizabeth tried to placate him while her heart was breaking all over again.

Two years ago, things had reached a peak and then been purposely pushed under the rug where they couldn't hurt anyone. Elizabeth had always placed work over her personnel life and John seemed no different. She'd always wondered what would have happened if they were still on Earth. Elizabeth knew the answer straight away and that was that she would be with him. However, Earth wasn't Atlantis and here she was leading the most important expedition in the history of her planet.

Love was important but so was duty and honour. Elizabeth knew that John would never want her to give Atlantis up for him and she would never want him to leave because of her. They were both too important. For now, that meant that business preceded personal longings.

"I know." John said again before getting up off the ground, "I am sorry; I had no place being jealous. We're NOT together so you're not obligated to me Elizabeth."

"John!" Elizabeth called out as he picked up his gym stuff and left.

Elizabeth just stayed on the floor; it was beginning all over again.

A week had passed since their conversation in the gym and Elizabeth could detect no difference in John's behaviour. He acted as if it had never happened and seemed to be more friendly than usual. There were no secret glances from him or any unnecessary lingering touches. Elizabeth knew this is what she had wanted but now that it had finally returned to this she was kind of disappointed.

The gestures from John had always been an affirmation to her that he was still interested but now there was nothing.

Making her way into the briefing room, Elizabeth knew that if he could move on than she could too.

Taking her place at the table, she looked around at the other attendees.

"Is everyone here?"

A nod from Carson made her look at Rodney.

"You can begin now Rodney,"

"Okay people, MGA-552. Lorne's team recently went there scouting but what they found was a fairly advanced race of people who might be willing to share information with us."

"What kind of information?" Elizabeth asked.

"It is information on wraith weaknesses and tactical plans; the works."

"How did they get this information?" Ronan asked gruffly.

"They have been culled by the wraith just like the majority of people we come across. The Haneans found ways to preserve their knowledge so that they wouldn't regress. This has allowed them to study wraith technology over the years. Though not as advanced as us, they seem to have a pretty good grasp of the wraith. That's why I think we need to negotiate for the information." Rodney finally finished.

"Ben, I understand you'll be the negotiator for this one?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes but I may need to consult with your expertise." Ben told her with a smile.

Elizabeth nodded and went about finalizing the details of the mission. John watched silently from the other side of the room, his eyes clouding over as he watched the looks Jacobs was giving Elizabeth. 'She hasn't wasted anytime!' he reflected before thinking about ways in which he could move on.

TBC


	4. How To Deal

AN: Hi guys, I finally decided to continue this story after an extremely long break, mainly because I had forgotten and also because I have been so busy with life. I have changed the first couple of chapters so I hope that they are better. Anyways enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Ronon piled the food onto his plate before moving to join the rest of his team at one of the many tables that were free. Dropping into his seat, he watched as Rodney shovelled food into his mouth at alarming speeds and Sheppard pushed his around slowly, making no attempts to eat it.

Noticing this Rodney mumbled, "Are you going to eat that?"

John shook his head and Ronon watched the other man scrape John's food onto his own plate. Feeling the glances on him, Rodney looked around and shrugged, "What? I have a very high metabolism."

"It's okay Rodney." John told him before pushing his chair back and standing.

"Guys, I'm gonna go do something. I'll see you later."

Rodney, Teyla and Ronon simply nodded and watched their friend until he had left.

"I am worried about him," Teyla broke the silence.

"I am too." Ronon replied. John had not mentioned anything to either of them but lately he had seemed a little dejected. Ronon had noticed a shift in his behaviour for about three weeks, around the same time the Daedalus had transferred the last group of recruits.

"It's because of Elizabeth," Rodney mumbled, his mouth half full of food still.

"Dr Weir?" Teyla questioned Rodney.

"Yep."

"How so?" Teyla knew that there had been a massive shift in John and Elizabeth's relationship 2 years ago but everything had reverted to normal and they seemed to be getting on better than ever.

"Two words, Ben Jacobs." Rodney informed the pair.

"The new diplomat, what does he have to do with..." Teyla paused after realising the cause of John's behaviour was due to another man.

"I don't get it." Ronon shook his head, a little confused.

"Rumour is that Jacobs is making a play for Elizabeth and Sheppard is getting all antsy about it." Rodney merely filled them in on what had been circulating around Atlantis the past couple of weeks.

Ronon nodded and quickly pushed his chair back, intent on finding his friend and getting him to open up.

* * *

The beads of sweat dripped down his face and he took a moment to wipe them out of his eyes, whilst trying to catch his breath. John had just spent the last half an hour running flat out, trying to release some of these aggressive emotions he'd felt build up since Jacobs had arrived. That coupled with the fact that he hadn't been off world in several weeks had made him feel as coiled as a tight spring.

The relationship with the Haneans was moving slowly and so far his team had not been needed. Elizabeth had ordered them to take some downtime and catch up on some things that they previously hadn't had time for. John had no real problem with that except that because he had been around Atlantis more he had heard and seen things that had begun to make him wish he had a mission.

"Sheppard." The familiar voice called out to him.

"Yeah,"

"What is going on?" Ronon questioned.

"Nothing, I just need to get off world." John answered, trying to step around the question.

"McKay heard something about Elizabeth and the new Doc."Ronon carefully worded the question so that he would be able to gauge Sheppard's response.

John's head whipped and he glared at Ronon, "What have you heard?"

"Just that she seems a little close with Jacobs," Ronon informed his friend.

John sighed and closed his eyes, "I know." His voice sounded defeated, something Ronon had never heard before.

Ronon didn't say anything as John moved himself to the side of the corridor and sank down to the floor.

"We said we'd move on; push it under the rug until a time came that we could be together." John divulged.

Ronon didn't need to be told who the other party was in the 'we'.

"We said we wouldn't stand in the way of each other finding happiness with someone else." John continued.

Ronon nodded, he now knew exactly what was eating away at the Colonel. Elizabeth looked like she had found somebody else and it was killing Sheppard to see her with another man.

"Have you talked to her?" Ronon questioned softly. It was hard for him to have such an intimate and emotional talk so he was trying his best not to act awkward.

John shook his head in response to Ronon's question, "It won't help, we just re-hash the same issues and it makes it that much harder to stay away from each other."

Ronon knew that there was only one thing he could tell his friend, "Sheppard, let her move on."

John nodded knowing that Ronon was right; he needed to suck it up. He had spent that last several weeks mourning for something that he had never really had to begin with.

Ronon stood and stuck out his hand; John grabbed onto it and pulled himself up.

"Now come back and have some food. Don't worry about Weir."

John just smiled and nodded, "I can do this."

It was no surprise that when they arrived back at the mess hall that Rodney had only just started onto desert. Teyla had finished but was still sitting next to the scientist, seemingly engrossed in conversation.

Grabbing a plate of food, John placed it onto the table and dropped into one of the seats.

Teyla glanced up at Ronon who gave a little smile and nodded, trying to let her know that now things may start to get back to normal.

Elizabeth entered the mess hall with Ben, hoping to grab a bit to eat before she had to return to the pile of work on her desk. Ben was saying something to her but she had no idea what because her attention was focused on a certain Colonel and his team.

As soon as she had entered the mess hall she had felt his presence and her eyes had been drawn to where he was sitting, and laughing with his friends. Elizabeth wanted to join them so terribly but knew that sitting in such a casual setting with John would be detrimental to what they were trying to do.

Ben's hand urged her towards a table only metres away from John's and she watched as if in slow motion his eyes life up and meet hers, sending her a tormented look. The conversation between the team mates had faltered and Elizabeth hated knowing she was the reason for this uneasiness.

Elizabeth knew that John was probably reading more into the situation then there really was but she couldn't approach him about it in public like this. Instead she ignored his probing gaze and sat down opposite Ben.

John couldn't help but watch as Elizabeth at lunch with Jacob's. Every time she laughed at something he said or he touched her, John could feel his fists clenching up into a ball. He knew it was irrational but he couldn't help it.

* * *

The whole reason they had decided to remain apart was so that their work relationship would not be affected but that was just what was happening. He knew that if things remained this way than one or both of them would be reprimanded. Deciding to be the bigger man, John unclenched his fists and raised his eyes to hopefully catch Elizabeth's.

Feeling her eyes on his, John gave her a small smile to let her know that he was going to be okay with whatever she decided. He didn't have chance to gauge Elizabeth's reaction as Chuck's voice sounded over the communication system.

"Unscheduled Off World Activation"

TBC

* * *

AN: Sorry if John might seem a little OC but I was trying convey how hard this situation might be.


End file.
